But science has had trouble determining whether dogs and other animals genuinely activate a mental image in their minds when they hear the name of an object, something that would suggest a deeper grasp of language, similar to the kind that humans have.
*****
Say the word 'bone' in a completely random sentence to that asshole dog Jack and watch him explode into the kitchen and plop his ass down right in front of the cabinet where his rawhide bones are kept.
If I say 'truck' or 'ride', he's at the back door waiting to go.
If I say 'no, not this time,' while I'm putting on my boots getting ready to go somewhere, he'll shoot me a dirty look and go lay down.
Every single dog I've ever owned was like that.
Every dog I've ever had understood the the words let's go ride ..
ReplyDeleteThey understood it meant go to the vehicle and wait to get in because we were going for a ride..
As well as come, go, sit, down, stay, ball, fetch and so on..
JD
If they hear the word "creek", both dogs will start sprinting towards the path through the woods that leads there.
ReplyDeleteBecause researchers are wanting to know if it's more than rote memorization and how much more. Too, what parts of a canine brain are active in interspecies language.
ReplyDeleteBecause the average dog hooman is less intelligent than the dog or otherwise unreliable.
Me too. Except it works better if you say something that she wants to do anyway. Makes you feel in control.
ReplyDeleteAll the dogs I've had "get it" more than a lot of people. Dogs are also nicer.
ReplyDeleteMy dog loves my elderly mother-in-law who lives down the street because she always has biscuits for the dog in her pocket. If you says the word "Nana" in conversation the dog goes ape shit thinking her walking treat supplier has arrived.
ReplyDeleteExile1981
You guys got it easy, I can't even spell ice cream aloud without my Hannah sprinting to the car, ready to go to Dairy Queen. That's our weekly ride and treat. Every dog I've had understands lots of words. I think the cats do, too, they just don't fucking listen. Eod1sg Ret
ReplyDeleteCats listen. I once said to my wife that I was going to throw out one the cat's toys because he didn't play with it anymore. Not five minutes later that MF had drug it into the living room and started playing with it.
DeleteI had a huskie/coyote cross that spent a lot of time with me my truck. When he heard the turn signal, he would check to see which way we were going so he would know which way to lean.
ReplyDeletemy lab jack is the same way with the turn signal. Dog live with me all the time. he has chairs everywhere we go. hes a good boy. Bet he has a 20 word at least vocabulary.
DeleteColes Dad
I had a stone-deaf cat that read lips. You could mouth the words "Square Meals" (her treats) to her and she would perk-up and meow.
ReplyDeleteStarker here,
ReplyDeleteWe got a black lab puppy after our second was born. Max was a great family member. One of the kids would feed him, but he wasn't allowed to eat until he was told to. I used to say, Max eat. Or go ahead and eat, or you can eat. But then I started testing him with similar sounding words. Like smell my feet, or do you want to eat, or let's go skeet. He understood the word in context. I never treat any animal as unintelligent.
The question being asked isn't "do dogs have a positive association with the word'. The question is, in a dog's mind, do they 'see' a mental image of the object referenced.
ReplyDeleteOnce had a cat that for some reason started poking at the carpet shampooer in the den. Shooed him away, and he came back and started up again. When I went into the living room, noticed that someone had barfed on the carpet. He knew the machine would get rid of the spot.
ReplyDeleteYou should have had a dog it would eat the burf saving you the effort
DeleteJD
Same here. But I also talk to my dogs, starting when they're pups.
ReplyDeleteRead one guy who always had his dog fetch his hat for him when he was working outside. One day, for fun, he hid the hat before going outside. When he asked the dog to fetch the hat the dog couldn't find the hat and started searching. The dog eventually ended up bringing his wife's sun bonnet from the greenhouse. Conceptual thinking and understanding classes of object on display.
ReplyDeleteAnimals read nonverbal communication constantly.
ReplyDeletetry lunging an equine' it's all telegraphed with body language.
Yep I had two dogs that would bolt through the doggie door into the garage if I did not get in the shower first thing after waking. They knew they were going to the park.
DeleteI have a semi feral cat that adopted me. I fed it as a kitten so if felt comfortable moving in. I kick it out at night and would have to say "Out!" and it would run out the door. Now it knows when I'm getting ready for bed to leave without me saying anything. The bathroom window is stuck open so I just taped some cardboard over the inside of it. A bird built a nest on the sill on the outside. That cat saw the nest and would run in and straight back to the bathroom and try to tear the cardboard off. I was amazed how it associated the outside nest to where it would be located on the inside.
ReplyDeleteLast cat I had lived with us for 17 years, and I swear she knew plenty of English words based on her responses. Still miss that darned puppy cat.
ReplyDeleteEveryone here is missing the point. "a new study" always means someone got a grant to study some nonsensical notion that a grant writer dreamed up. It does'nt matter how obvious it may be. Just another payday!
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone is missing the point.
DeleteNo we got it, we just don't care
DeleteJD
This!
DeleteDogs know.
ReplyDelete"Science" is turning into a joke.
"wear a mask"
Delete"2 weeks to slow the spread"
"6 feet apart"
The Gebark Sisters, figured out some pretty complicated circumlocutions such as "provide transportation" and "the round spherical thing". And Zsa Zsa even invented a game of her own - she would maneuver a ball under a cabinet or bookcase forcing her human to be the one who had to fetch. It took us a while to realize this was not an accident, but deliberate.
ReplyDelete-Rurik
I'll walk to the front door and say "Let's go, Daisy!" and she comes running down. Before I open the door I'll say "Where's your frisbee? Can't play without a frisbee!" She tilts her head, runs up the stairs and finds her frisbee then comes back. SCIENCE.
ReplyDeleteReminds the time when the kids were playing Minecraft on the computer and found a squirrel in the game... and mentioned it out loud.
ReplyDeleteThe dog /had/ been in another room until then. Oh well, clearly recognized /that/ word at least...
Our pup Pepper is smarter, faster, and trickier than us. She isn't spoiled, much.... Glad we have her too.
ReplyDeleteNeck
We used to watch the meerkat show on the animal channel. Whenever the theme music came on, our house cat would come running and lay down (on the carpet or on the couch with us) and stay until the show was over. She was enthralled.
ReplyDelete